The present invention relates to a method of binding dust created when drilling rock, in which the dust is mixed is at present collected in plastic bags. The use of plastic bags or sacks, however, is encumbered with a number of disadvantages, both with respect to the necessary handling of these bags and to the cost thereof. Further, if a bag should break, the dust contained therein swirls up, creating a still greater health risk.
It has previously been proposed to bind dust with the aid of a liquid comprising of water and a suitable binder, to agglomerate the dust into a form in which it is no longer harmful to health. The dust should be bound immediately as it is created during drilling, since the freshly cut surfaces of the dust particles are then physically active, which provides a good binding effect. It is important, however, for purposes of efficiency that the dust can be bound in a manner which does not necessitate the interruption of a drilling operation.
Consequently, it has previously been considered sufficient to successively bind dust created by drilling at the rate in which it is generated. Different apparatus have been proposed to achieve this goal. One such apparatus is described in the Swedish Pat. No. 7404759-8. One of the disadvantages with such apparatus, however, is that the amount of liquid binder supplied must be continuously adapted to the amount of dust created. This is very difficult to achieve, and often impossible, since the amount of dust created varies greatly, for example, in dependence upon the hardness of the rock and the wear on the drill crown or bit.